Well it's the first day of the quarterfinals I'm here with Amazing, we are both sick, but that didn't stop him from advancing with Origen onto the next stage, to the semifinals. Amazing, those felt like very strange games to me, especially the first ones where Maple was doing all this crazy stuff, and you guys would just win a couple teamfights and the game would end. How do you feel about your performance in those games?
A: I mean, the first game for me was pretty harsh because I went on stage and I felt kind of unwell so... I was kind of overwhelmed by what Maple was doing, so I didn't really find an answer, neither did Mithy, who was our other shotcaller, so we kind of struggled a little bit but at some point we knew what we had to do again, we focused on what we had to do and we were able to win a teamfight off of that. So it was kind of shaky in the beginning but I think because of the series even in game 3 that we lost, our game plans were pretty clear and we executed pretty well until a certain point in the game in game 3.
Yeah what happened in game 3, why did things go poorly there?
A: I think there were a couple of bad teamfights on mid lane, and that was kind of vid, where we also let I think the Caitlyn freeze down bottom for a long, long time and we didn't really find an answer for it, whereas the answer was basically send a player down bot lane and shove it out. Something that wasn't in our minds at that point so we kind of felt pressure to do something, and there was really no pressure on us and misplays happen out of that.
So you guys were kind of screwed in that first game because you have to ban Gangplank and Mordekaiser anytime you're on that side, but obviously the next game you guys banned LeBlanc, right, on the second game? Would you have done that the first game if you had those extra bans open or was that sort of in response to how Maple played?
A: It was more a response how we played, but having to sacrifice two bans everytime is dumb, by the way. So we had the intel, we had the info on him, so we knew he was kind of a strong LeBlanc player, he played it last week, I think, when he wrecked group stages, so we would have probably interacted with a LeBlanc, but we're not quite sure how we would have done it on the red side.
The LMS teams kind of showed up pretty surprisingly strong at worlds. Did you guys feel confident before this game, or were you like oh God, what are they capable of?
A: We felt confident, but only because our last two days of practice went pretty well, where we finally got our stride back, because last week of group stages was pretty bad for us. We weren't in our groove anymore, we kind of felt off of our usual selves, so we had to find the groove again and when we had it we knew that we were gonna beat Flash Wolves. We didn't know how hard, like if we go 3-1, 3-0, but we 100% certain we'd beat them.
Now, it was kind of interesting to watch you play, obviously you've played in some big arenas, but this was so different from Paris, when I walked out and saw the crowd go crazy, it felt much louder. Was it jarring for you at all to play in a much bigger arena, or was it just same old same old?
A: Honestly I noticed it for like maybe when they were really excited about Origen, when they screamed Origen, Origen, you hear the whole crowd cheering, and it's like [something] of your voice communications, but other than that it felt pretty normal to me, honestly.
Pretty normal, it's good to hear. Just the Origen chants are pretty good, it's probably pretty good that you guys are playing in Europe, does that help at all, do you think?
A: I think it does, all of our players are a bit more motivated if there are fans behind them, so having people chant for you in such a manner that is only rivaled by maybe TSM chants, it's pretty crazy to have one.
I think so many people including myself and you are getting sick here at worlds, how's the health of the rest of the team?
A: Everyone's fine besides me, so I got the red card.
So whenever they got to Brussels, the four of them will be sick and you'll be ok.
A: I hope not, I think they're gonna be fine, like unless I'm gonna be the one that kind of infects them, you know, but if anything I would do it to other teams lol
Oh yeah, just go up and hug all the other peopel on the other teams.
A: How's it going, you know, hand shake here and there. Nah, not going to do that, but hopefully it's not going to happen to my team.
You gonna play AHQ or SKT?
A: Why you laugh?
Because I think it's pretty one sided, right?
A: I don't think it's gonna be that one-sided, I think it really depends on how AHQ shows up, because even in the game that was vs Fnatic, they had all the cards of winning it, and they just decide to throw the game. So it's not like AHQ's a bad team, I actually think they're pretty strong, they can be contender for top 4, so I would say the series is gonna be closer than most people think.
You're the first person that told me that they have a chance, because everybody's like SKT's gonna win worlds hands down, you don't think that that's necessarily the case?
A: I don't think that SKT's gonna win worlds hand down, first off they play us afterwords, if they advance, and second off you have Fnatic on the other bracket, and KT, which both of them I think are really strong contenders to win worlds themselves too.
So you're not afraid of SKT it sounds like
A: I mean, if I was afraid I would just I go to bed right now and sleep for the rest of the week or go party. But I'm not afraid, we're willing to practice, and willing to sacrifice time and effort, to maybe make a miracle happen, as people think it is. But I'm not scared of anyone. Last year it was Samsung White, we played them, we played pretty decently, or my team played pretty decently, so I'm not afraid of anyone anymore.
That's good to hear that, I think a lot of people would get pretty nervous at this point. Good to hear. I didn't have a chance to ask you this question at groups, it's also kind of a cheesy journalist question so I apologize ahead of time, but do you feel any vindication for the fact that you advanced out of groups, and now off to semis, and TSM did not?
A: Not at all, actually, it was more of a thing where... due to how we parted ways, like me and TSM was on perfect terms and everything like that. I kind of felt a bit regretful throughout the season, to a certain extent, where I thought that maybe joining Origen or maybe going back to EU was wrong decision, but right now for me it just feels like proof that I made the right decision, that's it. But I don't have any hard feeling towards them or anything like that, because Reginald is probably the best owner that I've ever had, he does everything for the team, he does everything that he needs to do, and looks out for everyone, so I don't have any hard feelings towards them.
I won't tell your midlaner what you just said about the best owner ever.
A: I mean, you could tell him, you know, but TSM is really crazy when it comes to players, helping players. When I got there I remember going everyday to go out for dinner or whatever it is, and just have the team bond a bit more. And Regi made sure that everyone stayed on one page, which I appreciated that time and I still appreciate.
Well I know both of us are pretty sick I'm sure you wanna go home and rest. Is there anything that you would like to say to any of the Origen fans today after your win?
A: Thanks for supporting us, because honestly those chants are crazy, and honestly never dreamed us to become this big in terms of fan base, I know we have xPeke, but even players like Niels and Mithy who are less known are being cheered for, so thanks for the support and keep on going, please.
Thank you so much for the interview, congratulations on advancing, looking forward to seeing you guys play in Brussels. For everyone else you can check out our coverage of all things worlds at
